Proposals sought for CN property development

Details

Published on Friday, March 17, 2017

Kate Jackman-Atkinson

The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The redevelopment of the former CN property, at the heart of Neepawa, is moving one step closer to becoming a reality.  On Feb. 22, the Town’s Economic Development department issued a request for proposal (RFP) for the redevelopment of the site.

“This is an exciting step for us,” said Marilyn Crewe, Economic Development Officer for the Town of Neepawa. The RFP is looking for development proposals for the 40 acre parcel and Crewe explained that a developer could focus their proposal any portion of the site, from the entire parcel, to a small portion of site, for either themselves or a client. “I’d love to see local developers interested in all or part of the site,” said Crewe.

The proposals are to be based on the development plan, released in April 2014.  This plan, which was made as a result of public consultations, outlines the zoning and uses for each portion of the property.  The site is divided into single family, multi-family, local commercial, highway commercial and institutional land. Crewe explained that the zoning changes have already been completed on the site.

The RFP outlines two major priorities in redevelopment: housing and retail. With a shortage of single family and multi-family homes, the Town hopes that this redevelopment will provide a much needed opportunity to ensure adequate housing and meet the residential housing needs of the community. With the community serving as a regional retail and agricultural supply hub, the Town hopes that the redevelopment of the CN land will help the town expand its economic base and better serve as a regional retail and business centre. 

While the zoning is complete, the property isn’t quite ready for development, as Crewe said that they are still waiting on approval of the subdivision application.  However, she explained that they wanted to get the next step underway, so that they are ready to proceed once the approvals are granted.

The site will also have infrastructure needs as the development gets underway, but Crewe said those may be partially dependent on tenants’ needs.

The deadline for responses is Friday, March 24 and Crewe said she couldn’t comment on when shovels might be in the ground at the site.